FIVE (5) Things You Probably Didn't Know About Our Course (DISM)

1. DISM is different from secondary school because …
Unlike a typical classroom lesson, lessons here are pretty much hands on! At DISM, we train you to combat cyber crime by putting you through different scenarios of cyber crime. Each scenario has its own set of challenges and you will have to adopt different strategies to solve them. We also have a league competition where students pit their skills against one another and are awarded points on completion of each scenario. Apart from winning points, students often feel a great sense of achievement once they have conquered a scenario!

2. A lot of your time will be spent in …
The Cyber Wargame Centre! As the name suggests, it is literally a game of war in cyberspace. During lessons, you will be given cyber crime scenarios to tackle. In every scenario, there will always be the good guys (defenders), the bad guys (attackers) and the cops (investigators). You will play any one of these roles and will attempt to penetrate enemy defences, defend yourself against intruders, or be the detective to find out how and why the cyber crime took place.

3. A lot of your time will be spent on …
Wargaming! This is where you start looking for loopholes in computer systems - both your own and others. Once you have discovered these loopholes, you’ll then have to figure out how to “patch” these holes up. In the professional world, companies often organise wargames to test the strength of their security network and to plug any gaps that they might find.

4. The fun thing about DISM is …
You’ll get to play the role of cyber cop! By playing detective, you’ll enter a cyber crime situation to find out how and why the crime could have happened. Once you have found the answers, you will then be able to advise people on how to prevent similar situations from happening.

5. To do well in this profession, you must be able to…
Work in a group and under stress! You will often be working in a team to stop cybercrime, so your ability to communicate with your teammates could determine the success or failure of the mission. Also, cybercrimes must be stopped quickly. It is therefore important that you work quickly and not lose focus!